Les Amis Bake Shoppe
by IamSlytherclaw
Summary: It was a simple plan. Open a bakery, infiltrate government parties, and unmask corruption! What could go wrong? Including all of Les Amis, a little one-sided e/R, future E/É
1. Introduction

"So, Mr. Valjean, whaddya think?" Courfeyrac ended his presentation with a grin.

"Let me make sure I understand. You boys are going to open a," the rich old man trailed off for a second, "bakery?"

"Yes, sir! And we need you to invest!"

"Excuse me, sir. We have all the willing labour we need, we have a location, a professional website, all we need is a little more capital to get our supplies and possibly pay, but we don't _need_ wages, if you're not comfortable with that," Enjolras clarified.

"Please, Papa? They just want to start a business. You always tell me to help others. And their pitch was really good," the investor's daughter, Cosette added, playing for sympathy.

"Alright." He wrote a check. "This should get you started. And don't you go without pay! As my daughter said, we have more money than we can use," he said jovially. "But I should warn you, I don't want my money wasted. I'll be checking on your progress every so often. But I'm sure your baked goods will keep me coming back anyway."

"Thank you, sir," Enjolras said, shaking Valjean's hand. The government was now one step closer to being overthrown. "This will certainly go to good use."

 **A/N: Thanks for giving this a shot! To explain this ridiculous idea, I found out that there's a bakery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana called Les Amis Bake Shoppe, and I couldn't help myself ;) This chapter tiny, I know, but it's just an intro. Future chapters should be longer. I'll post once a week at the latest, but right now I'm excited, so chapters will be sooner. In case you were wondering, this story will be mostly based off of the musical, but I plan on drawing from the Brick a good bit. And of course, please review. I will promise this, _if anyone ever reviews or PMs me with an idea or suggestion, I will do my best to include it somewhere_ _in my story!_ Thanks again!**


	2. Chapter 1

Enjolras confidently strode into the newly renovated storefront. "My friends, we are one step closer to reaching our goal! If we can maintain our momentum, we cannot fail. Combeferre, with me. We must decide the best way to use our money."

With those two out of the way, Courfeyrac gathered the others around around him. "Okay men,"

he whispered furtively, Operation: Crack The Marble- report!"

"My cousin's husband just died, so she's free I guess?", Feuillly suggested.

"My sister's coming to town in a few weeks. She's nice! But it would be weird to set her up with Enj," Jehan offered.

"I think it's weird we're setting _anyone_ up with Enj," Bahorel said, conscious of how strange Courfeyrac's scheme was.

"Come on, Ba, it's simple, really. Enj is kinda boring. All he does is work! I dont think he's ever been on a successful date! We just want to get him to loosen up a little. So, any more ideas on who to send him out with?" Courfeyrac explained.

Bossuet then started talking excitedly. "Guys, I think I really have something here. Okay, so today I was talking to a classmate about our group, right? Well, he had this friend standing behind him, a girl. This girl seemed interested, asking what we thought about welfare, criminal justice, and a bunch of other stuff. She seemed like she could probably have an intelligent discussion with Enjolras, so I invited her and my classmate to tomorrow night's meeting."

Courfeyrac clapped his hands joyously. "This may be the one!"

"Yeah, not like you say that every. Single. Time," Grantaire scoffed.

Just then, everyone's phones lit up with a new text. _Scatter._ Combeferre, who was in on the plot, warning the others of the unfortunate victim's return. Hasty, almost panicked movement filled the rather small room. Everyone tried their best to look busy. Feuilly had the good sense to whip out his phone. The others were more... inventive with their alibis. Jehan picked up a plastic flower and stared at it with great concentration, Joly and Bossuet began animatedly discussing ice cream flavors, and Grantaire sat down at a table and pored himself a drink of water. This would seem normal, had the water not come from a vase of flowers. Needless to say, when Enjolras and Combeferre entered, the fearless leader knew something was going on. He didn't really care, though. They were always up to something.

"Well, don't just stand there! Get to work," Enjolras said exasperatedly. They obliged.

Eponine Thenardier walked home pensively. That boy in Marius's class talked big, but could his little student group really bring about the change they spoke of? Did they have any clue what they were doing? Why did they care about these things at all? She was seemed to agree with the group's beliefs, but did the students? She couldn't know. So she would just have to join Marius to that meeting and ask all her questions. Oh, Marius. Now _that_ was a much more pleasant subject for thought. He was alwaus so kind to her, unlike anyone she had known before she met him. She just couldn't help falling in love. Speaking of...

"'Ponine! There you are! Do you want to came to Lesgles' meeting with me? It'll be fun," Marius sing-songed on the last sentence.

"Of course! Anything for you!"

"You silly tease," he laughed.

She huffed. Damn guy was pretty much blind to her affections. She nevertheless held on to the hope that someday he would love her as much as she loved him.

But she didn't have time for that. She had job-hunting to do. Maybe she would try for a job at that new bakery? It was pretty much right between her apartment and the campus, and she had noticed a Now Hiring sign in the window. _Couldn't ask for better location. Might as well give it a shot,_ she thought, and she set off towards the bakery, not knowing it would lead to a new job and a new life.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even a copy of the movie. Sigh** "Guys! Guys! It's her! That girl I was telling you about! She's about to come into the store!" Bassist excitedly stage-whispered.

The bell over the door jingles happily. "Um, hi," the brown haired girl said. " are you still hiring? I've brought my resumé. "

"Oh you want to _work here_ and maybe _make some friends,_ huh?" Courfeyrac said looking to his friendsvwith a wiggle of his eyebrows. "That would be _amazing_! We can get you an interview _right now_!"

" Okay, " Eponine said in a manner that indicated "I don't know what this crazy man is doing, but it seems to be working in my favor so I'll just go along with it" , which was an impressively complex notion to insert into one word.

She took in her surroundings. The main room of the bakery was like a hallway too narrow to be called just a room. The walls were lined with little wrought iron bistro tables with matching chairs. The room itself was painted a calming light blue and the floor was covered with tan hardwood. In a word the bakery was... quaint.

"Like it?" a voice next to her asked. "Oh, sorry, my name's Jacob Feuilly, but everyone calls me Feuilly. I designed this place. You're a fresh pair of eyes, so do you have any suggestions before we open next week?"

" Oh, no, it's great! It's really cute, but not overly girly, like most places like this, "

"Well, that's what happens when a bunch of guys design a bakery," he said jovialy. "So I saw you were looking for a job here?"

" Sir, I've been looking for a job everywhere. Not many people want to hire a college kid with no experience and a criminal record, " she replied candidly.

"Ha! Criminal record? You'll fit right in!" the man who set up her interview laughed. " Enjolras, our boss, says he can see you in about ten minutes. Wanna meet some of your future co-workers? "

"Don't get my hopes up, but sure!" Eponine joked. She likes these people. They were easy to be around . She found herself quite eager to get this job.

"Aw, if doesn't hire you, I'll make him! We like you, right Feuilly?"

The man nodded, smiling.

"I'm Alexander Courfeyrac. Most call me Courf. No one calls me Alex, Al, none of that crap, got it? You've met Feuilly of course, and you might know Bossuet, the baldie over there. He seems to know you." Indeed, the man from earlier, the one Marius had been talking to, was waving enthusiastically. "You see that worried little guy? The one checking his pulse? That's Joly. He's a little different, but we love him anyway. The guy with the book is Jehan, and over there's Bahorel and Combeferre arguing. And the others you 'll meet later. " He informed her, pointing to each one in turn.

Without warning, the worried one, what was his name? Something weird with a J? Well, whatever his name was, started hyperventilating. "Does he need some help?" she asked with concern.

" Nah, his girlfriend will take care of him. "

As if on cue, a buxom redhead emerged from the kitchen, walking over the whats-his-name. She took him by the shoulders, looked him straight in the eye, and sternly told him to calm down, informing him that he was fine, most certainly not dying, no need for panic. He rebutted her argument with some excuse about his pulse being wrong. Well, maybe it's because you're hyperventilating? Eponine thought. The redhead just signed and took him to the back room with promise of an aspirin and an ice pack.

Eponine turned to Corfeyrac and Feuilly confusedly. "That's normal? Is he okay? Who was the girl? What the hell just happened? " she questioned, mouth going a mile a minute.

"Yes it's normal, he's fine, that was his girlfriend Musichetta, and he's a medical student, but also a hypochondriac. He usually thinks he has whatever disease he studied that day, " Feuilly responded, miraculously answering in order.

"Huh. But how did they... I mean, the two of them are so..."

" Yeah, we don't know how the those two ended up together. He just walked in one day with her by his side and they've been together ever since. We're glad he did, of course. Couldn't calm him down before. Just had to let him freak out till he fainted, " Corfeyrac added. "But nevermind, you have an interview to go to ! Knock him dead for me, will you?" He said, indicating the arrival of her interviewer and possible future boss.

She looked up. The man looked rather full of himself. Rich, blond, frat boy. She knew the type. She'd seem many of his kind around. She really hopes he was different, otherwise she might have to turn down this job from annoyance.

"Couefeyac, Feuilly, thank you for entertaining her. Better you than Grantaire," he said , rolling his eyes. "So you have your resumé, madam?"

Great, one of those fancy guys. What would come next, rolling his fedora and calling her m'lady? Eugh. "I have it. And please don't call me madam. I'm not old."

"I apologize, miss. I meant no offense. Would you please come to my office? It's much quieter in there. "

"Thank you," she said, following him past the counter, through the kitchen and into a little office. It was covered with stacks of paper, but not in a messy way. The color scheme of the room was very different from the front room. Instead of blue and tan, everything was shaded of red and black. And there was the guy sleeping in the corner. Kind of hard to overlook.

He followed her gaze. "That's Grantaire. He's drunk again. Don't let him bother you." He then proceeded with the interview , asking all the usual questions. Only one confused her. "Can we trust you?"

" Er- I'm not going to steal anything, if that's what your asking. "

"Sorry, let me rephrase that. What is your opinion on the current state of our government?"

Even though that seemed an entirely different question, she answered, " It could certainly use some reforms, especially towards accountability. "

"Are you willing to act on these beliefs?"

" Sure, but I don't know how to, really. "

"We can help with that part. You're hired, Eponine. We can start you at, say, fifteen dollars an hour? Will that be enough?"

"More than!" she answered elatedly. Finall y, after months of job searching, she had a job! Maybe soon she could move into a real apartment, maybe even find Azelma and Gavroche!

"Good. Can you open on Monday?" Eponine's new boss said.

" Of course! " she replied, still not believing her luck.

"Excellent. Eight o'clock sharp, alright? "

"Yes, sir!" This was the happiest shed been in months .

 **A/N: Wow guys, I'm late _AGAIN?!_ What is my problem? Idk, man. Well anyway, I hope you didnt much mind waiting one extra day (or should I say one day more) for this. Okay, that present I told you about? Welp, I just wanted to give you a warning. *ahem* _DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES THINK ABOUT GRANTAIRE WHILE LISTENING TO THE SONG TIGHTROPE FROM THE GREATEST SHOWMAN._ By which I mean, do it, but dont blame me. Have tissues ready. Peace out, guys. I'll be baxk with another chapter on monday**


	4. Chapter 3

Enjolras was enormously please with himself. Honestly, he had money. The beginning of his rebellion was in sight. Even that new girl he just hired was a plus. For the company, of course. Eponine fit the part. A bakery would do well with a friendly face making lattes and serving up pastries. Especially if that friendly face had intelligent brown eyes and shining wavy hair... He stopped that train of though short. Good for business. That's all the girl was to him, and all she would ever be.

Of course, his face betrayed none of this.

"If you're paying her that much, what am I getting?" Grantaire asked.

Enjolras set down his looked up from his computer and sighed. "Grantaire, you will get paid once you do some actual work, and the you'll only get minimum wage."

"Why, Enj? That's not fair,"he whined.

"Because Valjean gave me strict orders to use his money to help those who really needed it. I saw her address on her resume. It'd a bad part of town. And she had previous convictions of prostitution and theft. She needs money. You, however, are a wine cask of a literature major with parents who send money every month. You get paid less," he informed the drunk in a tone one would use to explain something to a child.

"Damn. Poor kid. Wait, who the hell says wine cask anymore?"

"I do," he said shortly before walking out into the front room where his friends were chatting.

"Tell me she's staying! She must be staying! Is she staying? Pleeeaaase let her stay!" Courfeyrac begged, the others echoing his sentiments with equal fervor.

"Yes, yes, yes, she's hired. I take it none of you are too upset by that. She will most likely be joining us at our meeting tonight, along with Bossuet's new friend. By the way, Bossuet, I am truly sorry about your expulsion."

"Oh, it's no big deal. I didn't really want to be a lawyer. Hey, maybe I'll be a really good baker!"

"Optimistic as always. Well, you can go home now if you wish. I dont believe we have anymore business here."

"And dont forget tonight's meeting," Combeferre added.

"Never fear! We shall welcome our new sister and give her an accurate portrayal of the glorious Amis de L'ABC!" Jehan interjected with more enthusiasm than would ever be necessary.

Sadly for Eponine, the portrayal would be very accurate indeed.

 **A/N: Hello again! Sorry this chapter is so short, the next one really makes up for it, I think. Two things I wanted to say, though. First, I'm going to be putting a lot of little references to other things in this story, so do you want to make a game of it? Ya know, whoever identifies the reference first gets a prize? Idk. Could be fun. And second, although I don't want to come of as pushy, I didn't get any reviews for the last two chapters. Which is fine, but I, like Katherine Pulitzer, have no clue what I'm doing, so feedback is really useful. And I'm super paranoid about the characters being OOC, so if anything looks like that to you, please please please tell me! Thank you for reading my story, and I'll see you next Monday!**


	5. Chapter 4

**_DISCLAIMER THAT I KEEP FORGETTING: i don't own les mis. Hope no one's surprised._**

Eponine almost skipped home, if her dirty, two room lodgings could be called home. The building has originaly been a motel, but after failing to turn a profit was turned into apartments. Her furnishings were a mere collection of thrift shop finds. A mini fridge, a microwave, a mattress in the floor, and a rack of clothing met most of her needs. She really didn't mind. She was barely ever home. Even if she lived in a mansion, she would only use a bedroom and a bathroom. Why pay for more house than she needed with money she didn't have?

She used her tiny, ice cold shower, and brushed out her long brown hair. Hers was not long hair that was meticulously groomed, long to suit the fashion of the day. She just didn't have time or money for a haircut. Granted, she had split ends from hell, but she didn't care. After that, she put on a nicer dress, also from a second-hand store, and put on a bit of makeup. Eponine felt like she was dressing up for a date. And maybe she was. Marius had invited her to something, maybe they would get dinner, maybe he would see her in her dress and maybe, just maybe, something would click and, after all this time, they could be together.

It was a useless fantasy, she knew. But, hey, a girl can dream, right? She started humming an old song she first heard a long time ago, before this Marius, before this apartment, before she moved to this city.

"There is a castle on a cloud,

I like to go there in my sleep..."

It was a sad, haunting song in its own right. It reminded her of days long past, of a friend she and Azelma found in a servent's starved form. She wondered what happened to the little lark. Something good, hopefully

The chime of her phone pulled her out of her musings. Time to go to the Pontmercy estate. She would have to take her time to avoid sweating off what makeup she had on. She glanced at her reflection, tried to smooth out her hair, gave up, and she was off.

Marius and Eponine arrived at the Café Musain a few minutes early. Bossuet, seeing his new friend, ambled over to introduce him to the others.

Eponine decided to sit on the sidelines for now. Just watche the others. She found a corner table and sat down. She wasn't the only one.

"So." The short word reeked of alcohol. "You're the chick who's caused all the fuss."

" What of it? " she asked, automatically on edge around drunks.

"Hey, hey, hold your horses, kid," he said, mockingly holding up his hands. "It's too early for yelling. "

"I'm not yelling and it's seven in the evening," she deadpanned.

"Then I must be drunk. The name's Grantaire. Care for a drink?" He wiggled a bottle of something strong in her face.

" Not yet. Later, probably. "

"Suit yourself. You know, I think I like you, Pony. Can I call you Pony? I'm gonna call you Pony, Pony."

She laughed at that. "So, 'Taire, can I call you 'Taire, I'm gonna call you 'Taire, 'Taire, do you work at the bakery?"

"Oh, a sarcastic little shit, are you? Sure, I guess I'll let the dumb nickname slide. And I do work at the bakery. Really I wanted to I just wanted laze around, but good ol' Enjy made me work. He's mean. " The last remark was emphasized by a ridiculously infantile pout.

Eponine couldn't resist. "Oh, poor widdle 'Taire! Is the mean blond man being a bully?" she asked with a patronizing baby voice.

Grantaire proceeded to stick out his tongue at her, not helping his "I am not a child" case.

The two were interrupted by Enjolras loudly clearing his throat. "If you two could spare us a moment, the rest of us would like to get on with the meeting." The words were not unkind, not sharp. Instead, he sounded slightly amused by their antics. " Thank you. Now I realize that some of you are quite eager to meet our new members, so I'll keep this short. We as a group are known as Les Amis de L'ABC. "

"No one calls us that. We just came up with a fancy name to make us feel important," Grantaire said to Eponine in what he believed was a hushed tone.

"Yes, thank you Grantaire. Our purpose is simple. We want to unmask governmental corruption and aid the poor, the downtrodden, the miserable, and create a change in this world, a change that will outlive us all. We hope to accomplish this by means of subterfuge. I'll let Combeferre and Courfeyrac explain the plan, as it was originally their idea."

The two walked to the front of the room. "The plan sounds a little crazy at first, but bear with us. We really think this is gonna work," Courfeyrac began.

" We knew we wanted to get damning information on these politicians before we went public, of course. The best way to get information is to get close. So we thought maybe we should find a way to enter these official's houses, " Combeferre continued.

"So as anyone who's ever watched a movie will tell you, the best way to get into places is with the servants, right? So here's the genius part, are you ready? We start a bakery, then we cater, then we get into official parties and we get access to their private property, AND we get jobs, AND we get cakes! Pretty smart huh? " Courfeyrac finished with great bravado.

Both Marius and Eponine sat in silence for a few uncomfortable seconds.

"So you 're saying, you started a bakery, so now you're gonna, what, reform the political system of the entire what? City? Parish? State? Because I can tell you right now, you just can't change the country from your small town bakery, " Eponine questioned.

" We'll just see how far we can go. We plan to start local, but if it seems to be working, why stop? " Combeferre answered

Eponine thought in silence for a moment. "Okay, your plan isn't that bad. Strange, but still. But I do have one big problem. Sorry to break it to you, but this is Louisiana. People don't care about corruption. A crooked politician ain't news no more! It's bad, but that's how things are. How do you plan to make people care?"

"Nice, Pony!" , Grantaire grinned, holding up a hand for a high five. She obliged.

"Thank you for your insight." Enjolras said with a thoughtful expression. He was impressed. He truly hadn't thought of that. She was right, the people of Louisiana were content to let officials do whatever they wished as long as it didn't interfere with their little lives. " I don't know. Do any of you have thoughts? "

"Good God, you've stumped Enjolras! Will wonders ever cease?" the cynic cried.

"And you're assuming your bakery will be pretty successful, getting into fancy parties and all," Marius added meekly.

"Damn, these newbies are poking holes in the plan left and right," Bahorel laughed.

"Hey, at least they're here and paying attention! Second opinions save lives AND rebellions, it turns out," Joly joked.

After a few fruitless minutes of brainstorming, the meeting dissolved. Everyone started taking amongst themselves, whether speaking of strategies or just talking. Several of the Amis walked over to Eponine, introducing themselves, asking for her opinions, flirting in some cases. She learned she actually shared a literature class with both Grantaire and Combeferre, so they spent a large portion of their evening bitching about the irritating proffessor, Dr. Kevin. Nothing unites students quite like an annoying teacher.

Throughout the night, Eponine kept sneaking glances at Marius. He looked very handsome laughing with his new friends. He was so kind. And she was nothing. No one. Just Eponine, the former whore. No, the bake shop girl. The barista. The girl that helplessly loved Marius. She must have stared longer than she thought. Grantaire gently knocked on her head

"Anybody home? You went quiet on us, " Grantaire asked, voice tinged with concern.

"It's nothing. Just thinking."

" Wanna talk about it? Or do you want to drink and forget about it? "

"Drink. Pass the bottle."

" That's my usual coping method." He seemed to sober up suddenly. "It only works sometimes. If you ever need to talk, like, _really_ talk, just call me, okay? I'm here, Pony."

"Thank you, 'Taire, but I really don't need to talk right now. It's not a big deal. But I'll call if things get bad, deal?"

" Okay. But don't ignore your problems until they smack you in the face. " He shook his head. "Ew, we just got deep, didn't we? Let's get drunk."

She smiled. "Agreed," she stated simply , ordering and promptly downing a highball.

"Ooh, you're not shitting around about getting drunk, are you? Sure it's not a big deal?"

"Grantaire, I told you, I just want to get drunk. Now are you going to join me or not?"

He grinned. "Well, when you put it like that! I'm quite the expert in getting drunk, as all these asshats will tell you. Drink a glass of water after each drink of alcohol to avoid hangovers, which are never fun, and don't eat after. It takes away from the buzz. I love wine for easy days, but in your state, I'd go whiskey or vodka. And make sure you have somewhere to go at night. A friend to crash with or something. Don't risk driving. "

"You've got this down to a science, I see."

" I've had some bad times that don't bear repeating, " he said darkly.

"Same here," she said, equally dark.

"So I say we stop chatting and start drinking."

"Always," she laughed. They drank. And Eponine had a true friend. She was a former whore, a barista, and Grantaire's friend. That was enough for her. For now, at least.

 **A/N: Hello! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Turns out I really freaking love writing Grantaire, so I had fun with this chapter. Even though I had to ask my freaking mother to send me an article on how to get drunk. It was a lil bit awkward. Anyways, thanks for reading. Please RR, and I'll be back with a more Enjonine-y chapter in a week :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: me? Own les mis? In my dreams, yeah, but i have really dang weird dreams. Don't ask. Or do, if you're, like, super bored, idk** Eponine awoke the next morning on someone or other's couch. Okay, she thought groggily, what the he'll happened last night? I got drunk, I... Got drunker, and... I woke up. Not helpful, brain. Not helpful. She was alone and fully clothed on her couch, so that was a good sign. Someone had, however, removed her shoes and placed them neatly in the coffee table. They wanted me to sleep comfortably? That didn't make sense.

"Finally awake, I see, " a voice behind her said. Eponine whipped around to see who her benefactor was. To her surprise, it was Enjolras, casually leaning against a doorframe. "My apologies, miss, I didn't mean to startle you. You've been asleep for quite some time. Hungry?"

" No, thank you. Why... Why am I here? " she asked hesitantly.

"You were drunk, and you needed someplace to go. Marius had left by the time you passed out, so we didn't know where you lived to drop you back home. I let you stay here for the night."

"That's very kind of you. But, why? You don't know me, you don't owe me anything. Why would you do this?"

He smirked. "You're one of us now, Eponine. We take care of each other."

It was her turn to smile. "Thank you, Mr. Enjolras. Really."

" Oh, please, don't call me Mr. Enjolras. It reminds me too much of my father. Just Enjolras, if you please. "

"What is it with you people and referring to everyone by last name?" she finally asked. It had been bothering her. Who did that, nowadays?

He smirked. "We met each other in high school debate. Only knew last names at first. They stuck. Now, we only use first names of something's really serious."

" Oh. "

"Are you sure you don't need anything? I can go ahead and take you home, if you need me to," he said .

"That would be nice, thank you." She pulled in her shoes. "Ready when you are, boss!"

He pulled on his jacket, grabbed his keys, and reached for his phone. "What was your address? 1832 Lamarque Lane? "

"Yes. Um, how did you know that?"

" It was on your resume, " he replied simply, as if it was perfectly normal to memorize an address during an interview.

"Huh ," was all she could say.

" Come along. Your house is about fifteen minutes away. "

She followed Enjolras out to his car, an old convertible painted a deep, shining red. "Nice car," she said.

" I don't take care of it as I should. Sorry for the mess, " he said apologetically.

"No worries. If I had a car, it would be much worse," she joked.

The pair rode in silence in silence for a few moments. "Okay, tell me, did I do anything embarrassing last night?"

He let out a breath of a laugh. "No. You just talked with Grantaire. Eventually, you passed out. No problems."

" Oh thank goodness. "

There were a few more minutes of slightly uncomfortable silence, until Enjolras asked, "Do you have any questions about Les Amis? Any of our positions of beliefs?"

She thought for a moment. "One, sort of. Why do you do this? I want to know who I'm supposed to following. You at least come from wealth, correct? Why do you fight for the poor?"

" It was my father's passion. He saw the need around him and did his best to help. My cousin and I looked up to him. He was our hero. He died while working in a food bank. Heart attack. There was nothing we could do for him. I promised I would make him proud, finish his work. So I help where I can. He was good with people, likeable. I, " he sighed, "I am not. I use the law to aid the needy. That cousin of mine? She runs her own charity. I run a group of schoolboys. Sometimes... Sometimes I wonder if it will be enough."

Eponine saw the sadness, the near hopelessness of the marble man's face, and felt an urge to put her hand over his. She did. "Hey, it's alright. We can do this," she said softly.

He shook his head, as if trying to shake away the thought. "I'm sorry to bother you, Eponine. You don't need my problems in your life," he apologized .

"Sir, I asked, alright? I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

" Please, don't call me sir, Eponine. Call me Gabriel. "

She made some sound, like a muffled snort. "That's your name? Mr. Handsome Shining Hair Blue Eyed Angel Guy is named Gabriel?"

" Gabriel Michael Enjolras, if you must know. My mother is a very sentimental woman. At the time of birth, I had a shock of blonde hair. She thought I looked like her little angel, so she named me after two of them, " he told her, smiling. "What's your story, miss? I have told you mine, it's only fair."

" My father was awful. He made me do things for money. Things I don't much like talking about. My sister, Azelma, is still with him. My little brother, Gavroche ran away. I don't even know if he's alive. "

"Gavroche? Gavroche Thenardier? Is he your brother? "

"You know him?" Eponine asked, barely able to contain her hope. She had been looking for him for years.

"I think so. Let's see," he said, making a turn.

A few minutes later, they were pulling into a driveway. "Where are we?" Eponine asked.

" Courfeyrac's house. He has a little buddy who may or may not be here. You want to ask? "

She bolted out and rang the doorbell. She heard some groaning and the sound of someone bumping into things before the door opened. Courfeyrac looked like hell, with his bleary eyes, bedhead, and scowl. "Gabriel Michael Enjolras, why are you at my house at this indecent hour?"

" Is Gav here? Eponine wants to meet him. "

"HEY GA-AV! SOMEONE'S HERE TO SEE YOU!" He called out.

"Who's 'ere?" The kid in question mumbled.

"Hey, Ewok," she said hopefully. He was pretty young when he left, so she wasn't sure he would remember her.

He blinked a few times. "Ponine? 'Zat you?"

She laughed. "Yeah. Uh, how've you been? Oh, screw it," she said shortly before attacking her brother with a hug. " I've missed you. "

"Ow! Get off, 'Ponine! Stop! Ow!" He replied, punctuating his exclamations by biting his sister's arm before hugging her back just as fiercely. The two reunited sibling sat on Courfeyrac's porch getting reacquainted.

Enjolras watched all this from the sidelines. Well, maybe he could do some good in people's lives. His train of thought was interrupted by Courfeyrac marching up to him, saying, "You woke me up at eight in a Saturday just to impress a girl, you owe me coffee. And you have to be the story on the whole Ewok thing, 'kay? Then I might forgive you. "

"I am not trying to 'impress a girl', Alexander, I just wanted to help a friend, " he replied long-sufferingly.

"First named me. You like her, _Gabriel_."

" Do not. "

"And now you're getting defensive. Aw yes. "

"Okay, I'll get you the coffee if you stop tormenting me," Enjolras huffed.

"Score! Get me a mocha with, like, all the caramel and espresso. And a muffin, or I tell the guys."

" Alright, alright! Eponine, come on, we need to get going. "

"Okay. Goodbye, Gav," she said, hugging her brother. "Hey, Courf, could I pick him up later this week so we can get pizza? He says he can wipe the floor with me in the Deer Shooter thing in the arcade. He's wrong, but I must prove this. Is that okay with you?"

" Without me? Madam, do whatever you want, but I get pizza too. "

"I wouldn't dare to suggest otherwise."

" Good. Now, Enj, I do believe I NEED COFFEE! "

"I'm going, I'm going! Let's go, Eponine, before we get eaten by the bear here."

The bear in question crossed his arms and dismissed the pair with a " Growl, growl, roar, you bastard. "

"Language!" Enjolras called out over his shoulder . "There's a kid here!"

" Piss off, smooth-face! " Gavroche responded.

"That's my brother," Eponine said rather proudly.

" You're welcome. "

"Oh, yes, thank you so much! I'm sorry, I was just caught up in seeing him! Thank you thank you thank you!" She exclaimed, chiding her forgetfulness , then hugged him, placing an unthinking kiss on his cheek.

"Oh. Um. Right. Uh, let's go." Eponine was already in the car by the time Enjolras managed to stutter the short sentance out. The drive to her place was short, filed with her telling stories from her brother's childhood. He wasn't really listening. She had kissed him? What was he supposed to do about it? What could be do? Ask her, "hello Eponine, my friend and coworker, did you kiss me for any especial reason other than thanks? If so, that might make our professional relationship a little bit strained". No, that wouldn't work. Then, he would just have to pretend this entire morning hadn't happened? No, he wasn't willing to do that. He had enjoyed it. The conversation, not the whole hugging, kissing thing. Or did he? He wasn't sure himself. But she was just being friendly. Right? Or was there more? No, there couldn't be. She was just a friend who was grateful. And he was just a kind boss. Even though Courfeyrac thought otherwise. But he always did. He was a serial matchmaker. Eugh. "That's right. Sentiment. Ew," he muttered to himself.

" Pardon? " Eponine asked. "Did you say something?"

" What? No! I doing say anything! Sorry. What were you saying? "

"Oh, sorry. Well, after we pulled him away from the llama, we... Oh, look, that's my apartment. Thanks for everything, Gabriel."

" Of course, Eponine. Do you want my number in case you need anything else?" _Holy shit, did i just offee her my number? This will not end well, she'll think I'm a creeper! God, Enjolras, pull yourself together!_

"Sure! Could you type it in real quick?"

He did. "See you Monday, Eponine, unless you need me sooner."

He drove off to Starbucks before he could screw anything else up. What had just happened?

 ** _A/N:_ Whaddya think? This is my longest chapter yet, almost two thousand words, so that's cool. FYI, I love all of you readers. Yes, you, if you're bearing with me, i love you. Just thought you should know. Please drop a review!**


	7. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: Do I even need to do these? I don't own les mis. I just own my feelings concerning it**

The weekend passed without major incident. Not without incident, just without any major ones. Enjolras, after much deliberation, decided to ignore what had passed, because after years of managing Les Amis, he had learned to ignore any and all problems he felt didn't concern him. This matter certainly caused his concern, but he could apply the principle to avoid any unnecessary awkwardness.

Eponine's weekend was much less emotionally taxing. She slept, did laundry, went to the store, planned a pizza night with Courfeyrac and Gavroche, ordinary things. And that was extraordinary. She'd never had such a normal life. Her Saturday nights used to involve long nights at work, and her work was not enjoyable in the least. But no matter, that was in the past. She awoke Monday morning bright and early so that she might compose herself and look her best for her first day. Yes, her boss and co-workers had seen her drunk just a few nights ago, but she felt the need to dress up. She pulled her hair into ponytail, trying to make it smooth and stylish. It didn't really work, but the only other girl who worked at the bake shop was Musichetta, so she didn't much care.

She arrived about an hour later at 7:30. Yes, she was early, but she had decided to buy breakfast there so that if anyone asked her for recommendations, she would have something to say. She also needed some practice with the espresso machine.

While munching a scone and fiddling with the machine, she was approached by Musichetta. "Hey, I know we don't know each other yet, but do you want to get lunch together later?"

" Sure! Do you know how to make this thing froth? I can't figure it out. "

Musichetta showed her how. "And I desperately need some good gossip at lunch, okay? I've been cooped up with men for too long and I need girl talk stat."

Eponine laughed. "I think I could find some tales to tell, as long as you give me the scoop on how you and Joly became a thing."

" Oh, that's a good story. It's a deal, Ep. You don't mind if I call you that, do you? "

"It's fine. Do you have any preferred nicknames? Musichetta's a mouthful. No offense, of course."

" Anything but Moose, I'm good with. Or anything like 'Musi-shit-a'. "

"Does 'Chetta work?"

" Sure, babe. Now, I've got to get to work. Nice to meet you, Ep! " With that, the Italian went to the back to begin work.

Not long after, Enjolras called all the staff to the front room. "The time has come, my friends. We must make sure we make a good impression on everyone who enters that door. The future of our revolution relies on it. I'm sure we can do this. Let's go!" The speech was short, informal, but energized the Amis just as well as any other speech would have . It didn't take much to rile them up.

The morning passed relatively quickly. The bakery was insanely busy. It was better than being bored, she guessed. By the time noon came, she was ready to sit down for a while. She walked to the back to get Musichetta. She found the redhead mixing a batter with her ear buds in, passionately lip synching to whatever was playing.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you! Is it time? Let me grab my bag," she said.

They walked around the block to a McDonald's. They ordered quickly and sat down in a booth. "Now," Eponine began, " You. Joly. Go. "

"Okay, I'll tell, but don't tell the boys, alright? Their confusion is hilarious." Eponine nodded, so Musichetta continued, " When we first met, I was actually in a date with Bossuet. Yeah. Well, we were at this fancy French restaurant and making some awkward small talk, not really hitting it off. Then, Joly just burst in talking about some guy named Enjolras needing Bossuet for something. We said our goodbyes and I planned on just leaving the whole thing behind me, but Joly offered to walk me home because he 'didn't want such a pretty girl getting pneumonia and dying'. Of course, he did that in his dear little stuttering way. Sweetheart. It was the strangest, most innocent pickup line I'd ever gotten, so I gave him my number. Soon, we started dating, and here we are. And yes, I asked him out. You know he never could. He thinks I'm too good for him. Which, of course, " she said airily, " I am, but he is pretty adorable. And strangely hot. I don't know, he just is. He's got that sexy nerdy Brit thing, you know? "

"Wow. That was a rollercoaster of a story. I'm not sure mine are quite so entertaining, " Eponine said, stunned. "Uh, I've got daddy issues I could angst about, there was an abusive boyfriend, an almost illegal job, any of that type of shit that screams 'bad childhood'. Or, you know, I've got four younger siblings, so there's some nicer stories there. What's your pleasure? "

"Oh, honey, you need to talk about all those terrible things?"

"I'd rather not. Can we stick with small talk? Or any funny stories about Joly? Or really any of the others? "

"Ep, my dear, I have stories for the ages about those boys. You remember when the college gym caught fire? Well, that was Bossuet and Courfeyrac," she began.

They talked for the rest of the lunch hour. It was comforting for Eponine to lose herself in the tales of the boys' escapades. She found herself quite comfortable with Musichetta. She was about the least threatening girl she's encountered in the past year. Musichetta was the stereotype of an extrovert adopting introverts like Joly and Eponine, making them feel more at home in their surroundings. Eponine enjoyed it immensely.

An hour or two after they returned to work, a blonde girl and an older man strolled into the shop. Combeferre, who happened to be restocking the display case, noticed the gentleman and all but bolted back to Enjolras's office.

"Valjean's here. Do you want to talk to him? Take him on a tour?" he asked, knowing they needed to impress the investor.

"Send Marius. I need to finish this," the leader replied. Older people seemed to like Marius.

However, Marius seemed to like Valjean's daughter. The boy couldn't take his eyes off the blonde. "Hello, sir. Enjolras has asked me to take you and your lovely daughter on a tour of our establishment, " was what he meant to say, but in reality it was more of a "Uh. Um. Uh, wanna tour?"

As usual, Eponine was the one who had to save his hide. "Good afternoon, sir and ma'am, my co-worker would like to know if you wish for a tour of the bakery. I believe you are the investor that allowed us to start our business?" she asked in her best customer-service voice.

"We would glad to accept your colleague's offer, miss, though I believe maybe you should conduct the tour. You friend seems to be incapacitated at the moment," he joked good naturedly.

And so Eponine lead them around the building , answering what questions she could, all the while thinking the girl looked familiar. Just as they finished and Mr. Valjean prepared to go on his way, her curiosity got the better of her.

"Excuse me, but it seems to me we may have met. Might I ask your name, miss?" she asked politely as she could.

"My name is Cosette, if that helps? You do look familiar," the girl replied, genuinely curious if they had met before.

" Cosette! Now I remember! I'm Eponine! From Montfermeil, remember? You were best friends with my sister Azelma? "

"Eponine? Eponine?! It is you!" She screamed, crossing the short distance between the two to grab Eponine in a fierce hug. "How are you?! Nevermind, let's hang out later, when we have more time, okay? Uh, can we trade number? I'll text you tonight. Bye!"

Once they left the shop and were out of eye shot, Marius all but leaped onto Eponine. "Who was that gorgeous woman? Do you know her? Can you get me a date? I'm in love, 'Ponine!"

Eponine sighed. Sure, in love. With a girl he'd seen for two seconds. Two seconds in which he made a complete fool of himself. Because she was a skinny blonde, and rich to boot. When she'd said she hoped something good happened to Cosette, she didn't mean this.

"How are you in love? You couldn't form a full sentence!"

"Help me, 'Ponine! I'm lost until she's found! " he begged, ignoring Eponine's concerns.

Did he just go back about a hundred years with his flowery metaphors? Yes, but it was sweet, she guessed. "I'll help you find her, though God knows what you see her ," she said spitefully . Marius was supposed to be hers, not that Barbie doll's. She knew she was being petty, but would anyone blame her?

"Thank you 'Ponine!"

And with that, he ran off. What was he doing? Trying to stalk her? Planning to chase her down? Did he even know that was a felony? Wait, if Cosette or her father caught him, that might get a restraining order, and then Marius could be hers! Okay, that was a stupid idea. Eponine just went back to work, angrily wiping down the counter and tables.

Soon, her phone lit up. Grantaire had texted her, which was strange because he was sitting in the bakery looking right at her. "Wanna talk about it?" he had asked. She looked up at him and nodded, mouthing "Later". He then left the shop, hopefully going to get some wine or something. Maybe some chocolate. Okay, she would prefer wine, but chocolate would be good too. When was it not?

She walked back to Enjolras's office. "Hey, could I clock out a little early? I've had some stuff come up."

" Of course, Eponine. I'll take your place in the front. Will you be able to come to tonight's meeting? "

"Um, maybe? I'll try my best, sir. "

"Please, Eponine, there's no need to call me sir. My name is Gabriel, or Enjolras. Good day, miss, " he said, suddenly becoming short with her.

"Thank you!" she said, hurrying away and whipping out her phone to text Cosette. At least she'd get some alcohol for her troubles, if Grantaire would hurry up. She heaved another sign and set off in search of her love's love.

 **A/N: Sorry I'm late. This chapter was hard for me write for some reason. But, you know, the plot's kinda getting set in motion, so that's cool? Anyways, a massive THANK YOU to my reviewers Nollypoo and Guest. Your reviews were very sweet. Anyone wanna follow their wise example and review?** **Thanks for reading! See you next week, hopefully!** **Also, since i didn't know, I thought I'd inform any interested parties that Hugh Skinner, the guy that plays Jolyin the 2012 movie, is in the newer Mama Mia movie. Like, he has a shirtless scene. It kinda took me by surprise. But good surprise. Because, um, I kind of have a lil crush on Joly. Please don't hate me.**


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I still don't own a thing.

Eponine texted Cosette. "Can we meet up soon?" She wasn't sure what she wanted the answer to be. This was Cosette! Her first friend, but now that she was competition, was she her enemy? What was the status of their relationship! We were almost friends years ago and now I don't like you because my crush does? That didn't sound good.

Wait, she had to tell Azelma what happened. Where was 'Zelma these days? Maybe with Montparnasse? She decided to at least ask him. He would know. He tended to keep tabs on his current girlfriend at all times. He liked them knowing he was always watching them. She remembered this because she had in once been in her sister's place, and she was determined to get Azelma out of it. 'Parnasse needed to be locked away where he could never hurt another girl's heart and body as he hurt hers, and there was no way she was letting her baby sister deal with that scumbag.

As she was typing a text to Azelma, Cosette responded, "Of course!!!!" with several accompanying emojis of unicorns and hearts. Well, at least she wouldn't have to actually track her down? "Can we meet at the park downtown in a few minutes?" Once again, an enthusiastically affirmative response.

About fifteen minutes later, the two girls were sitting on the fountain in the center of the park, chatting. Eponine strangely loved small talk. It was simple, scripted, safe. How are you? I'm good, you? Good. Isn't this weather lovely/horrible? Yes, I hope it rains soon/stops raining. How's your mother? She's well, how's your sister? Excellent. Nothing to worry about in small talk, no mental chess. However, it was admittedly difficult to work in "hey, you want to go on a date with my crush? Please say no" to polite chit-chat. Well, might as well try.

"Hey, Cosette, can I ask you something?" After a pause, she continued, "My awkward friend, the one who couldn't form a full sentence around you, thinks he's madly in love with you and you must be soul mates or something. Could you go on just one date so that he doesn't talk my ear off about his star-crossed love affair?"

"Oh my gosh, he's interested in me? Seriously? I've been cyber stalking him all day! He's just so dreamy!" She gasped. "Maybe we are soul mates! Please please please please please give me his number? For me, Eppie?"

She sighed. Of course this would happen. Was it punishment for her parents being mean to Cosette as a child? Because her life since was terrible enough to make up for that, right? Well, she loved Marius, so she desired his happiness more than her own. Or, she should have. She was rather tempted to give Cosette a wrong number, but she just couldn't. What had Cosette done to hurt Eponine? If this was anyone's fault, it was Marius's for getting infatuated so quickly. She gave Cosette the number, no matter how much it hurt her. She knew she would never have Marius, so why regret what could never have been?

She excused herself from Cosette's company and texted Grantaire. "Can we talk?", to which he quickly replied "Meet me at the Musain".

When she got there, he was indeed sitting in a table in the corner with a bottle of wine and a box of donuts. Was he psychic? He seemed to know how to help a girl better than almost anyone else.

"Okay. Something's wrong. What is it? Marius trouble?" he asked with real concern.

"Yep. He's just... Blind! I've been in love with him for ages and he never spared me a second glance, but once some blonde walks in, he's head over heels? It's not fair! And I know, I'm being a selfish bitch, but I think I'm allowed right now, okay? " she said through a mouthful of donut.

"Don't worry. I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes you just have to content yourself with his company. It's better to be around him than alone, right?"

"But is it? To see his happiness that you can never be a part of?"

"For me, yes. If I can just see him, be around him, it's worth it."

"Okay, 'Taire, you knew I would have to ask, how do you know all this. Who broke your heart? "

He sighed dramatically. "Gabriel Enjolras. Stupid man. Not his fault, I guess. Just doesn't swing my way. And now, I'm pretty sure he's interested in someone else. Pass me the bottle," he said in a self deprecating tone.

" Hey, it's alright. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

"I could say the same for you, Pony."

"I just wish he thought so too, you know?" She asked, grabbing for yet another donut. Her crush would never like her back, so diet be damned.

"You wanna talk about something else? Get your mind off the problem? Dwelling on sorrows seldom actually helps them," he asked. Obviously this wasn't helping her much. He didn't know why, but Grantaire had oddly come to care for Eponine as he would for a sister. Maybe it was because no one had been able to empathize with him as she had.

"Let's. So, um, how's stuff?"

He laughed. " Stuff is good, but seriously, Pony, is that the best you can think of? I suppose I'll be the main changer of subjects here. Uh, do you want to go see a movie or something before the meeting tonight? Make the most of an afternoon off, right? "

That night at the meeting, Enjolras was in full swing. "Men, I must congratulate you on today's success. We've begun well, but now we must do our utmost to continue well. We must be the best we can be to make any change in this world. I know we can do this, my friends, if only we can maintain this energy. Courfeyrac, I need you to ensure we do all the marketing we possible. Feuilly, Combeferre, I trust you to manage the business portion of our endeavor when I need to focus on the other side."

Just then, Joly piped up, "Marius, what's wrong? You look sick! Enjolras, if he's sick, I'm leaving right now."

"I have no disease, my friends, no disease but lovesickness!"

Grantaire looked back at Eponine. He saw his chance. Time to make fun of Marius! "Come on, Marius! Tell us! We've never seen you ooh and ah over a girl. I mean, here's Enjolras, talking about revolution of whatever, and then Marius walks in like his life is some great tragedy of romance? It's even better than a soap opera!"

Marius started taking about his lady love. Enjolras couldn't force himself pay attention. He had noticed Grantaire's backwards glance and saw the dejection clouding Eponine's beautiful face. He couldn't restrain himself.

"Marius, no one cares about your lonely soul! We have bigger things to concern ourselves with. The goings-on of our lives don't matter, not when we have a war to fight! "

"Oh come on, Enj, it's nowhere a war yet. Let them have their fun," Combeferre chided.

Enjolras tried to reclaim the meeting, but everyone was too excited to calm down. Everyone but Eponine. She just stood in the back by the door, looking like she was dreading the end of the meeting. Why? He doubted it was for love of country. Was she afraid to go home? It was dark out, and she would have to walk through a bad part of town. Maybe he should offer her a ride? Or would that be inappropriate? He didn't want her to think he was trying anything.

He saw Marius walk over to her. Well, not quite walking. Maybe "bouncing" would be the proper term. He was smiling, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and was talking a little too loudly in her face. She was obviously uncomfortable with him. Enjolras had seen enough.

"Excuse me, Marius, I believe Bahorel wants to tell you something," he said, sending the boy on a fool's errand. " I'm sorry, miss, but you looked like you wanted the floor to swallow you whole. I hope I haven't overstepped my boundaries. Would you like me to give you a ride home? It might be safer than walking, " he asked politely.

She looked at her saviour curiously. "You don't need to do that. You've done your share for tonight, thank you."

"Are you sure? It's no bother. Please, Eponine," he said, putting a hand on her arm, " I want to help you. Just to ease my conscience. "

Okay, that was weird. She hasn't pegged Enjolras as that kind of guy. "How about I text you when I get home. I'll leave now. If I don't text in about fifteen minutes, call me. Does that work?"

He breathed out a relieved sigh. This just kept getting weirder. "Thank you, miss."

" Please, Gabriel, I think now you can drop the niceties. I'm Eponine. "

"Of course. Eponine," he said with a contented smile. Was he okay? He had expressed multiple emotions in one conversation? She hadn't been around him much, but she knew that was unusual

Grantaire had watched all this through the bottom of his bottle. So he was right. Enjolras was finally in love at last.

 _ **A/N:**_ Yes, I know, this was the neccesary "marius in love/red and black" chapter, but in my defense, I did try to jazz it up a little. And, in doing so, gave myself a major craving for donuts. This is why I probably shouldn't write while hungry.

Also, special shout-out to my friend and proof reader, Disneyfan4lyfe, who has been feeling crappy lately, but still helped me with this chapter

Anyway, thanks for reading! Review, if you feel so inclined. Next chapter, I can pick up the pace with the whole Enjonine thing, now that Marius is out of the way


	9. Chapter 8

Eponine walked home quickly. She has to get there quickly, otherwise Enjolras would be worried out of his mind. She couldn't do that do him. She didn't know why, but she couldn't.

As she was hurrying along, she bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry... Azelma?!"

"Who... Who are... Eponine? I haven't seen you in ages! "

"Zelma, can we talk tomorrow? I need to go, and it's too late to be out. But can we talk? I have some good news!"

"Um, actually, uh, can I go home with you, 'Ponine? 'Parnasse has been drinking again, and I'm scared, " she said timidly.

"Oh, of course, little bit! Come on, my apartment's just a block away," she said, ready to murder Montparnasse in his sleep. She had never seen her sister so scared.

Once they arrived, Eponine sat Azelma down on the bed and began heating up water to make tea. She wished she could do more, but microwaving a mug of water and sticking in a tea bag she had no memory of buying was the best she could manage.

"Hey, what's that news you were telling me about? You sounded pretty excited." She gasped. " is it a boy? Ooh, Ep! Are you in loooove? " Azelma teased.

"No, no, nothing like that."

"Wait, are you knocked up? Because it's okay if you are. "

"Azelma I haven't had time to go on a single date, much less get pregnant. Anyway, it's nothing to do with me. You remember when Father ran the motel?"

"Um, kinda? "

"Guess who I just met again? Little Cosette! You remember her? "

"No way! How is she?"

"She's good. In fact, we just talked earlier, and... " she began, prompting a night of talking, giggling and gossiping, forgetting any texts to a certain blond man.

Enjolras was worried. No, he was scared. She promised she would text him once she was safe. Of course, she very well might have forgotten. But she promised, didn't she? Eponine didn't seem the type to just forget something like that unless something major happened. Well, he hated to jump to conclusions, so he decided to check her house first. If she wasn't there, he would panic.

When he got there, only one light, a lamp, he thought, was on. Was that a good sign, or a bad one? He rang the doorbell. He heard it echo through the door, but there was no answer. Oh no. Wait, wait. Maybe she was in the restroom. He couldn't know. He wsited a minute or two and rang again.

Nothing.

He knocked a few times. Silence was his only response.

He was starting to get concerned. He knocked once more. If there was no answer, he was sending out a search party.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming! Keep your pants on, whoever it is," he heard from the others side of the door. A slide, click, and nudge of the door later, he was greeted with the sight of Eponine Thenardier in an oversized t-shirt and gym shorts, casually resting a baseball bat on her shoulder.

"Oh. Um. Hello, Enjolras. Why are you at my apartment at," she glanced at her phone, " Eleven thirty pm? " she asked in an emotionless tone.

"Uh. Uh. Well. Um. You're... You're okay, so I, uh, guess I'll, um, go now. Good night," he stuttered. He wasn't a man given to nerves, but come on, she was barely dressed and threatening him with blunt force head trauma!

"Oh! Enjolras, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot! I didn't mean to worry you, I promise," she said earnestly, putting down the bat.

"It's alright. Really. Good night," he said in a vain attempt to regain his dignity before speed walking to his car and driving off a bit faster than necessary.

Eponine shut the door. Azelma poked her head out. "Well he's hot. And pretty concerned about you, I might add," she teased.

"Azelma. Not everything is one of your teen romance novels. Enjolras is my boss and my friend. I forgot something. He showed... Friendly concern. Nothing romantic happened and you know it."

" I never said anything romantic happened. You're just putting words in my mouth, dear sister. And in case you forgot, all of the YA romance stuff I own was yours first."

Eponine huffed. "Go to sleep, child."

"Love you, too, 'Ponine!" She replied cheerily.

"Sleep. Now. Good night. "

"Okay, okay. You want the left half of the bed?"

"Always. And hey, 'Zelma, thanks for coming with me. You were brave for telling me. "

She smiled. "Thanks for taking me in. Now, weren't we just talking about sleep?"

With that, the two girls settled down for the night that would bring them the best sleep in months, though Eponine did find herself wondering why she was so defensive.

 ** _A/N:_** Guys, I'm really sorry this chapter's so short. This just felt like where I needed to end. Also, special thanks to musicallover2021, who follwed my lil story! Anyways, if you enjoyed what little there was of this chapter (sorry again), please review!

Like, seriously. I really hate to push it, but, well, I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter :'( Wanna give a girl a hand and tell me what you think?

Okay, see ya next week, my dears. Love you all!


	10. Chapter 9

**There is a time jump here, about a month after the last chapter**

Soon, the revolutionary group fell into a routine that seemed to work well for them. Eponine would man the front most morning, going to her classes in the afternoons and on weekends. Bossuet did most of the actual baking. Enjolras spent every spare moment trying to keep things on track. Grantaire drank. Marius obsessed over Cosette. The rest of the Amis just worked when they could. Eponine put Azelma back in high school for one last year. Montparnasse had come around, trying to sweet talk both sisters into coming back to him, but they would have none of it.

Eponine herself was doing better than she thought she would. She had always known somewhat that Marius would never see her that way, and that was fine. Grantaire, Gavroche, and Azelma loved her, so she didn't need him. And she didn't have to act as his personal 'Ponine Express as much anymore. It has taken some time, but she has mostly adjusted. Cosette and Marius were disgustingly cute. She wouldn't have wanted a sappy crappy romance like that. She was content with her life.

Enjolras couldn't say the same. It was time to get started. They had established themselves in the community enough to reasonably catch the eye of some official. He called his inside man, an old friend who worked in a low-level position in the mayor's office. The mayor herself, a Ms. Sharon Wellington, was fast approaching a birthday, which would, as always, be celebrated with a large campaign style party at her mansion. If Enjolras's contact could convince her to use the bakery as the caterer, they could begin the greater work behind the cakes and cookies.

But that was a lot of "ifs", he could admit. That's why he was stressing attempting to make an emergency Plan B. He couldn't ask his friends to just wait for him to get his head straight. Nothing he was coming up with made very much practical sense. He knew he could ask his friend in the mayor's office to spy, but he couldn't make himself ask his friend to risk his job.

And so they would wait, see how things came to pass, and work from there as best they could. He sighed. Why did he ever agree to this plan? Sure, it was better than nothing, but not by much. He hated that he was just a kid, unable to affect real change in the world. He wished there was something more he could do, but there just wasn't. Not at his age and social standing.

He took a deep breath. This was no way to think. If he kept this up, he would probably fall into despair and give up on politics like so many before him had. He could do good. He was giving jobs to people who had been previously considered unemployable. He would certainly do his best with what he had to increase governmental accountability. And he was also just a little proud of himself for bringing together this strange, uncoordinated group of friends and turning them into an efficient business that was fast gaining a shining reputation in the community. They could do this. He could do this.

He heard a soft knocking on his door. "Come in."

Combeferre cracked the door open. "Hey, Enjolras, Valjean is here again and he wants to talk to you. He sounded pretty serious. "

"Send him in, " he said, dreading the night's meeting, for Marius would certainly be praising his Cosette with renewed vigor. He was sick of the girl, even though they had never met. Enjolras had no patience for ditzy blonde types.

At that point, the ditzy blonde in question walked in with her father. "Enjolras," her father said sternly, " I hear your intentions with this business are not entirely legal? What is this talk of 'revolution ' I hear? "

Enjolras cleared his throat. "The business is completely harmless, I assure you, sir. While it is true that most of the staff are part of a political group, your money has not been misused at all."

Valjean stared Enjolras down a moment more. Enjolras, expecting this, stated back with his trademark cold fire of a glare.

Valjean broke first, scowl morphing into a broad, infectious smile. "You've got gall, my boy. I really don't mind your little revolution. In fact, I rather agree with it. We need some more clarity in the government. I've been on the wrong side of it before, and I think no one else should experience what I have. But I'll warn you, separating the bakery and... Other things, is for the best. Always have deniability. Other people asking about this might not be so agreeable. Your answer was good, " he said paternally. "Good day, sir."

As Valjean started to leave, Cosette stayed behind. "Hey Enjolras," she said, almost as a question.

He glanced up. This couldn't be good.

Seeing his attention, she took a deep breath and said, "I want in."

He blinked. "Pardon?"

"I want in. Your revolution. I want to help. Marius keeps talking about it and I want in. No, seriously. Think about it. People here know me. They've known me and my parents for ages. They trust me. They'd tell me anything. I can get information for you. Please, Enjolras. Let me help. "

"Of course, madam. We meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so your first meeting shall be tonight. We can discuss more then," he said, externally maintaining his composure. Internally, however, he was reeling. He guessed she wasn't such a ditzy blonde after all.

He sighed and reached for the phone. He was done biding his time. He needed to get started. It was his duty.

OOO

"My friends, today we welcome yet another member to our group. Cosette Valjean, yes that Cosette, will join in our fight." Enjolras paused, allowing time for Cosette to be recognized before starting again with a grim tone. "However, she will not have much time to adjust. It is time for us to begin that which we set out to do, and I have a way to begin. But I must warn you, I myself am not sure if it will work. We need to discuss this before we do anything else. We have obtained an invitation to cater for the mayor's upcoming event, which will be held at her house. We could easily obtain information there, but this is risky. If we get caught, it might well be the end for some of us. I assume most of you could please ignorance, but whoever actually goes to Wellington's office may well be arrested. At any rate, the bake shoppe itself would be shut down. And so I ask you, so we use this opportunity to continue building trust, or do we go for it now? "

Most of the Amis looked down, mulling it over. It was quite a query. Risk everything, or risk not having another chance like this again.

Eponine spoke up first. "We go for the jugular. One person sneaks down to her office, gets what they can, and leaves. They drop what they have by here, and go home. We strike the iron while it's hot. We can claim it was only one person involved, spare the store and the others. We won't get another free pass like this."

"I say we wait. I know that we might not get another shot, but we certainly won't if we get caught, " Feuilly countered. "Yes, Eponine, we could send only one person, but then people would be suspicious of us. We've spent so long building trust, and it would take at least twice as long to get it back. We can put out some feelers, begin looking for info, but nothing as... Forward as what you're suggesting, "

"Then how long do we wait? When is the right time? It will be hard, it will be risky, but we have to try," Bahorel interjected.

"Says who?" Combeferre asked. "It will be a much greater disservice to those we are trying to help to get locked up than to wait a bit." I

Eponine, who was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the rising tension, noticed Cosette roll her eyes and sit up straighter in her seat.

"Guys! I'll go!" She shouted.

All eyes turned.

"What? I know Ms. Sharon's house. She was my Sunday school teacher in fourth grade. I hated her. Still do, actually. I don't work here. They couldn't shut down a business in not affiliated with! My dad gets an invitation every year, so I go with him, get the papers or whatever, get them to you guys, go back to mingling," she said in the tone of one who knows she will get what she wants, no matter what.

" Oh, " seemed to be the general consensus.

"That's settled. Good day, gentlemen." And she left with a flick of her hair and a blown kiss at Marius.

Enjolras say in silent amazement. Damn.

OOO

 **A/N** : I have some bad news, guys. You probably noticed I posted a week late. That will have to be the new normal. I'm back in school (bleh), so I'm gonna be more busy, which means updating once every two weeks. Sometimes I might be able to post sooner, but sad as it is, school comes first. I really am sorry.

Anyways, would you much mind leaving a review? One word, even an empty review to prove you guys are still here reading would be greatly appreciated. I hate to be needy, but I did only get one review for the past three (3) chapters. I understand, but please pity a poor writer's ego and review

Okay, bye


	11. Chapter 10

Two weeks later, and it was the day of the big event.

Eponine was awoken by frantic knocking on her door. Who the hell could that be?

"Ep! Wakey wakey! It's dazzle time!"

It was Azelma, Cosette, and Musichetta. What. The. Hell.

"Come ooon Eppy! Let us in before I pick the lock!" Azelma sing-songed.

She obliged with a tired "Ugh."

Cosette strode in first, flapping her hands in the most basic white girl manner. "Sit down, shut up, we're gonna play dress-up. Azlema, make up please."

"No. No, no, no, no, stop, not happening, why are you doing this, why, please stop, " she said, backing away slowly.

"Too bad. You've got a boy to knock out, and we're gonna help," Musichetta added.

She choked. "Who? What? Why? How? Where? When?"

Musichetta rolled her eyes. "Everything in its time. Just trust us. Somebody will be blown away, if you let us make you even more gorgeous than you already are, babe."

"I don't trust you, but seeing as you won't leave my goddamn house, okay. "

OOO

Enjolras, though he had been somewhat nervous at first, had entered what could be called his battle trance. He was calm and collected as possible and prepared to face any number of bitchy bureaucrats that might come his way. The others seemed reasonably put together. Now all he had to do was inspect the ranks, maybe give a pep talk. He cleared his throat. "My friends, today is a day we long have awaited. After all our efforts, we finally have a chance to do something for the world. I know it might be hard, I know there are countless variables that could tip the scales out of our favor, but I know one thing more." He paused, mostly for effect, but partially realizing why he needed to say.

His eyes flicked to Eponine for the thousandth time. The crush that he may or may not have had on the girl might or might not have made itself more difficult to ignore when he saw her in the tight black dress for the event with her hair falling in silky waves. Her face glowed under the light, natural make up. She was more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Not that she wasn't gorgeous the rest of the time, but really, she looked amazing. He squared his shoulders and tried not to make his emotions very clear. "There is no one I would rather be doing this with, " Enjolras said with a rare smile of pure pride. He straightened Bossuet's bowtie, which was, of course, crooked as could be. "Let's go."

Eponine noticed. Of course she did. Her job was to notice things. Was he the mysterious admirer? Was there one? Or were the girls just seeing things? She tried to look at him more critically. He did look rather... Dashing, she guessed. Anyone looked good in a tux. He, being the obsessive patria-sexual person he was, had added a red flag of the revolution (his words, not hers. Or anyone else's, for that matter) tied around his waist. His hair was bright and shining as usual. He was handsome, she guessed. Not her type, though. Well, maybe he was her type, but there was Marius. Well, not anymore. Okay, he looked good. There. She said it. Back to business.

Anyways, she had a job to do. It was her duty to "bump into" Cosette on her way the the ladies' room and grab whatever Cosette stole. She would then take them back to the kitchen where most of the Amis would be based, while some were on the floor carrying trays of champagne flutes doing their best to eavesdrop on anyone and everyone. It was simple, in a complicated way. But first, Cosette had to come through.

OOO

She was trying her best, really, but Cosette just wasn't sure what she was looking for. Documents. Incriminating ones. What the hell did that mean? She eventually decided it was better to be safe than sorry. But she couldn't take the whole filing cabinet, so she'd have to make some decision. "Oh, think Cosette! What would Peggy Carter do?"

It was as if a lightbulb lit up over her head. She scanned the racks, looking for the most worn folders, as well as the strangely clean and dustless ones shoved far back into the cabinet, figuring those were probably the ones that were used recently, but hidden from sight. She jammed the files into her purse and bolted out of the room. Well, as much as anyone could bol t while wearing a pencil skirt and heels.

Now came the acting. She waited in a hallway, trying to catch Eponine's eye and signal her. Once that was done, she just had to slip her bag to Eponine's arm and go about her business.

Eponine was less nervous. She was accustomed to house robberies due to her childhood. This was child's play, really, so she decided to have some fun with it. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, miss, I didn't see you! How ever could you forgive me?!"

Cosette squinted puzzledly for a second. "Oh. Oh! Uh, oh yes, a pox upon thee, vile woman! How dare you interfere with your betters, slave!" She said in an overdramatic British accent.

"Too much, but good effort, " she whispered. "Just give me the thing."

"Okay, that's fair, " Cosette agreed, passing her the purse with the Maltese falcon of a file.

Eponine walked back to the kitchen in an unhurried manner, praying no one would notice what happened. Inevitably, someone did indeed start very obviously trying to follow her. She glanced over her shoulder. Oh my god. Was that Javert. In a cheap costume mustache. If course it was. She sighed.

"Oh, good evening, inspector! How's you been?"

 **A/N: Hello again! So, did you like the almost-cliffhanger? If you did, you wanna drop a review saying how very very much you like it?** **On the subject of reviews, Oh my gosh???? What the heck???? Last chapter recieved a ton of very kind reviews??? Thank you???? You guys are amazing?????** **Okay, thanks for reading! Bye!**


	12. Chapter 11

Enjolras cursed mentally. Why did he always have to pop up? It felt like he couldn't turn a corner without bumping into Javert, who would always inexplicably be speaking in the third person. And of course he was preying on Eponine specifically. She was, after all, a Thenardier. What she wasn't, however, was a good-for-nothing criminal. He was just about to walk over and see what his problem was when Bahorel pulled him back by the shoulders.

"Slow down, mon ami, she can take care of herself," he said laughing.

He shoved away his friend's arm. "I know, I know. I just want to make sure we don't have any problems. Our cause hangs in the balance."

Courfeyrac butted in. "Uh huh. Yeah. You're totally monitoring her every move because the revolution wants you to. Yeah. That's it."

"My dear Alexander, you know full well my only concern is for the good of the people and my only love is for my dear country."

"I never mentioned love, Enjy."

"You were insinuating it!"

"He's getting defensive!" Feuilly sing-songed.

Enjolras refused to dignify the accusation with a response.

"Aw, we hurt his feelings. Do you need a hug, Enj?" Bahorel teased.

"From Eponine, yeah," Courf laughed .

Enjolras looked at his friends, decided it would be best to just walk away, and then did exactly that.

Meanwhile, Eponine was actually getting shit done. "Did you need something, Inspector? More wine, another hor d'oeurve?"

"No, madame, I just wanted to ask how your parents are faring these days. "

"My father is still working at his business. I do not know where my mother is, " she said, trying to convey with her tone that he would get no information from her.

"Very good. And might I ask how your siblings are?"

"Also well. They are being taken care of. Thank you for your concern, " she responded, each word weighted heavily.

He glared at her a second more before the grim expression was replaced with a benevolent smile. "Send them my best. Make sure to tell them it was me, dear girl."

"I certainly will, dear boy, " she said coldly.

She walked back to the others with a victorious smirk.

"Crisis averted?" Enjolras asked.

"Averted in full," she confirmed.

Courfeyrac, who was not willing to waste his life watching the two decidedly not flirt, snatched the bag with the files. "I'm gonna take this to the bakery and then I'm gonna take me to the sleep. Peace out, assholes."

The group stood there for a second. "You think I'd be used to him by now," Eponine said simply.

"Hasn't happened yet for the rest of us, trust me," Bahorel reassured her.

"Okay, then, back to work! The night is young and we have to keep the wine flowing!" Enjolras barked.

"Buzzkill," Courfeyrac pouted, accurately summing up the group 's mindset.

The rest of the evening passed slowly. Drunk middle class middle aged people were never much fun to be around. Luckily, they were too drunk to ask to speak to the manager or anything like that. Towards the end of the evening, she was exhausted beyond belief. The more extroverted Amis were positively thriving, but she, Combeferre, Enjolras, and Feuilly were lagging. Joly seemed to be doing alright since he was alone in the kitchen with Bossuet, but even he would soon have had enough.

Soon enough, Eponine noticed they wouldn't get through the night without yet another pep talk. She gathered them all in the kitchen so the guests wouldn't see. She sighed. "Look. I know we've what we came here to do, and I know you're tired, but we have to finish strong. I've heard some of the attendees talking. They like us. They want to see more of us. We need to keep up our reputation. It will be hard, I know. But it is worth it. For the Patria, " she finished, looking back at Enjolras, who smiled warmly at her.

Huh. Did he always have such a nice smile?

 **A/N:** Yeah, I'm late, I know. Sorry, guys. BUT! I do have something exciting to announce! I've always hated authors saying they won't post a chapter until they have a certain number of reviews, because it's basically holding it for ransom. However, if I get at least three reviews, next Monday I will post a bonus chapter, in which all of the Amis go to the fair, a chapter full of fluff and fun! Since soon we get to some heavier plot, it might be nice to have a little calm before the storm. But it's all up to you!

Anyways, thanks to all the reviewers, especially AlexDrewello who followed and favorites this story as well as reviewing.

See you in two weeks! Or just one of you review ;)


	13. Chapter 12

Gavroche burst in screaming. "GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! THE FAIR'S IN TOWN! CAN WE GO PLEASE, COURF? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?"

Courfeyrac looked to Eponine for confirmation. She nodded. "Only if-" She paused for dramatic effect. "Only if we all go. All of us."

Every single Ami instantly perked up.

"Well, If you insist," Combeferre said with an over dramatic eye roll.

"For Gav's sake," Bossuet added.

The rest just nodded enthusiastically.

"Then it's settled. Friday after closing, Les Amis De L'ABC will take the Louisiana State Fair by storm!"

That Friday, Gavroche was restless. He kept marching up to every Amis one by one, pulling on their sleeves, constantly whining and asking, "How much longer? I wanna go to the fair now!"

Eponine, of course, wasn't having it. "Do you want to go to the fair, dear brother?"

"Obviously, Ponine!"

"Then you better stop harassing everyone. We go when we go."

He stuck out his tongue and stomped to a corner, trying to give his sister the cold shoulder.

"And you can stay in that corner until you calm down," she ordered, not unkindly, but firmly.

Musichetta, who had been watching this sibling drama unfold, laughed softly. "You know, if you weren't here as it was all up to Courf, we would've already been the fair for about an hour now. We're all pretty glad to have you to rein him in."

"Which him? Gav or Courf?"

She thought for a second. "Both."

About an hour later, it was nearly time to leave and Enjolras was still fully engrossed in his work. Yes, they had documents, but now they had to figure it out. They were heavily encrypted, sometimes redacted, the whole nine yards. Eponine knew it would take some effort to pull him away.

"Hey, Enjolras," she started.

He didn't even look up. "I'm busy, Eponine. Could you try me again later? I really can't be bothered."

"Too bad. Gavroche is counting on all of us going to the fair. You can't back out of this now. It'll break his heart," she tried, going for the typical 'think of the children' jab.

"He won't notice. He'll be so engrossed in the rides and the food," a swift parry.

She tried an emotional appeal once more. "The others will notice. Your friends will see if you value your work over your friendships."

He shrugged that off just as effortlessly. "They know how highly I place my civic duty."

She huffed."Enjolras, would you please pull your head out of your ass long enough to see how much everyone wants to see you cut loose for just a moment? We know that you can't be 100% nose to the grindstone forever. Work will be here when we get back. You guys are already juniors. Two more years and you all go you separate ways. One evening with your friends. That's all I ask."

He finally looked up at her with a glare of mock-loathing. "Fine. But after the fair, I'm coming straight back here to finish."

"And I will come with you to make sure you don't work yourself to death," she responded with an equal glare.

He looked her in the eye for a minute, waiting for her to break. It was all over once she finally gave up her pride. "Please, Gabriel. It would really make his day. He hasn't gotten nice things like trips to the fair with his family. Can we just give him this one thing?"

He sighed. "Okay. Let me gather my things."

She raced back to the others. "We got him!"

Cosette rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Ep. There's no 'we' in this scenario. It was all you. Good job."

"Ugh! Stop being sappy! I wanna go to the fair!" Gavroche pouted.

"Well then, let's go," Enjolras said, smiling for once.

Eponine smiled at him, mouthing her thanks and thereby removing any of Enjolras's doubts as to whether wasting time was a good idea. Maybe time with his friends wasn't that bad. Of course, he was mostly thinking about Eponine, but by now that was to be expected.

A short ride in Feuilly's soccer-mom sized van later, the group finally arrived at the fairgrounds. Now came the problem of deciding what to do first. Gavroche, unsurprisingly, wanted to do absolutely everything the fair offered. Eponine had luckily convinced Courf to foot the bill for Gavroche's extravagance. Where he would get the money, she had no idea, but it wasn't her problem. She only wanted to do a few rides, so she paid for her tickets and walked off. Most people found some sub-group to walk around with. Musichetta grabbed Joly's arm and races for the Tunnel of Love, Cosette begged Marius for a huge unicorn, Bahorel went with Courf and Gav to the rides, Feuilly, Combeferre, and Bossuet strolled over to a sea lion show, Grantaire somehow found a wine tasting, and Jehan and Azelma looked at an agriculture exhibit, leaving Enjolras and Eponine.

"So, what exactly does one... Do, at a fair and all?"

Eponine stared at him slack jawed. "You mean to tell me you've never, *never, gone to a fair? Ever?"

"Never."

She steepled her fingers under her chin, inhaling deeply. "Boy," she started, pointing her hands at Enjolras. "We're going to give you a full bona-fide fair experience."

"And so I ask once more, what does one do at a fair?"

"Roller coasters! Funnel cakes! Stupid rigged ring toss! Anything you want! Oh, Gabriel, we're gonna have so much fun!"

Enjolras was no idiot. He had arrived at work that afternoon with a hypothesis. He figured Eponine, an outsider, might enjoy being the one who knew normalcy more. And so he played dumb. It wasn't entirely an act. He hadn't been much of a fair-goer in recent years. Anyways, he just wanted to see Eponine happy and smiling for once.

"Since Combeferre isn't here, I suppose you'll have to be guide tonight," he joked.

"Not funny, but good try. Now, ROLLER COASTER TIME!"

He smiled again. She was beautiful.

They spent about an hour going from place to place, Eponine explaining all the fair procedure she knew. She even somehow convinced him to eat deep fried bacon on a stick.

At sundown, the whole group agreed to meet at the Ferris wheel in the center of the fairgrounds and all go together. Of course, each box allowed two people to sit side-by-side comfortably. Most paired off naturally. Joly, unsurprisingly, refused to go, saying he would watch their belongings. After all this grouping, Enjolras and Eponine were again the only two left.

They entered the little box, Enjolras sliding in first. Eponine drew a shuddering breath once they began to rise and pressed against the back of the box.

Enjolras noticed and turned toward her with a worried expression. "Something wrong, Eponine?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry, I've, uh, never exactly been on a Ferris wheel before and it just so turns out I am not a huge fan. Yay me," she said weakly.

"Oh, Eponine. Okay, can you breathe?"

"Yeah, that's still functioning. It just seems that my heart is in the middle of my throat and I'm dying." She tried her very best not to rock the cart as she scooted closer to Enjolras.

"Just breathe Eponine. It's okay. I'll keep you safe," he reassured her in low, gentle tones.

"Breathe. Yeah, I can breathe. I'm the breathing boss. Ain't nobody breathes better than me."

He laughed. "Yes, Eponine. You breathe that air." She scooted a little closer. "It's okay, Eponine. You can hold on to me if it makes you feel better."

She nodded at the invitation and pressed into his side, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Which was nice and all, but now Enjolras had to figure out what to do with his arms. He just settled for placing one very lightly on her shoulders.

Luckily, he soon had a chance to distract her. "Hey, would you look at that. We're already at the top. That's the worst it'll get, Breathing Boss."

She looked around her. The sun had begun to set, allowing all the neon lights covering the rides to glow while still bathing the fairgrounds in orange light. "Well. Maybe that wasn't all that bad. Maybe."

"Yeah. The view's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, unabashedly staring at Eponine as she leaned over to drink in the view.

"Hey," she said, leaning into his side again as they descended. "Thanks, Gabriel. You didn't sign up for this, so thanks for doing that for me."

"Anytime," he said, too willingly.

"Woah." She squeezed him tighter. Very uncomfortably so. "Wait, it's not stopping. Why isn't it stopping? We're at the bottom. That means were supposed to stop."

"It's all good, this is just a smaller Ferris wheel, so it goes around two or three times, since it doesn't take as long to go around. But hey, you did it once already, you can do it again, right?"

She inhaled slowly. "Yeah. We've got this."

We. That sounded nice. "Really. You're the Breathing Boss, remember?"

He watched as she repeated "breathing boss" under her breath over and over again while looking straight at the floor. Suddenly, at least as far as Eponine was concerned, the wheel stopped. Her breath sped up and she pressed further into his side.

Really all that had happened was some passengers were disembarking, but she didn't know that. Enjolras saw her panic. "Hey, Eponine, see Jehan in that box across from us?"

She looked up and nodded.

"They're taking a selfie together, right?"

Another nod.

He grinned. "Wanna photobomb them?"

She returned with her own smile.

Distantly, they heard Azelma's "three, two, one" and they posed in the most over dramatic stupid wasn't-funny-the-first-time classic photobomb poses that embarrassing siblings love to use on their younger counterparts and before they knew it, the wheel was moving once more.

She was laughing again. That was good. He for some strange reasons felt much more at ease when she was happy. Which was a worrying statement in itself. From what he knew, stupid school boy crushes like his consisted solely of "hey you're hot I'm going to obsess over you". This whole "caring more for her well being that his own" and "willingness to do anything at all to see her smile" thing was a grave concern to a person who had a carefully groomed reputation of being above lower emotions like love.

Eh. He was probably overthinking it anyway. He was just happy to help a friend through a rough situation.

The ride finally came to a halt. Eponine, of course, got off a little more quickly than the other passengers. "Good job Eponine. You did great," he said, trying to ignore how he kind of missed her warmth on his side.

"So."

Enjolras rolled his eyes. "Hello, Courf."

"You and Ep were gettin' pretty comfy up there, weren't you?"

"She's scared of heights. She was panicking and I helped her."

"There've been a suspicious number of coincidences like this recently," Combeferre added, not looking up from his phone.

He sighed. "Fine, yes, I kind of have a thing for Eponine. I said it. Can I go now?"

"Nope! Not until you admit you're totally in love!"

"Alexander Courfeyrac, I now will extend to you a polite invitation to not."

"Not until you admit it!"

"Will you stop?"

"Possibly."

He tried his trademark glare. Courf wasn't breaking. "Okay, okay. You win. I... Care deeply about Eponine."

"You know that won't sate him," Feuilly sighed.

"Damn straight! 'Care deeply'? What does that even mean? I care deeply about my toilet, but that doesn't mean I love it! I just want it to work! Nope! You actually have to say it," Courf burst out.

"You won't hear me say it again. I love Eponine Thenardier. There."

At that precise moment, Eponine walked up. "Hey guys! You talking about me?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, it wasn't anything big," Combeferre said calmly.

She stared for a second, deciding if it was actually worth worrying about. "Okay. You guys ready to by funnel cake and go home?"

"Yeah, we need to get Gav to bed. He's lagging," Courf said, serious for once.

Grantaire looked up from his phone. "Shit. Guys, could some of you come with me? We have a crisis."

Thy all looked at each other.

"Just lead the way," Bahorel said.

Grantaire dashed over to the agriculture building and started looking around frantically. Eponine and Azelma stopped in their tracks when they Montparnasse cornering some young girl. The girl was crying, trying to push him away. It was a situation both Thenardier girls knew all too well.

Thy didn't have much cause to worry about him, though, because Grantaire swiftly drew back his arm and punched Montparnasse squarely in the face, breaking his nose and quite possibly knocked out a tooth or two before crouching down and consoling the girl while Bahorel and Feuilly finished taking care of 'Parnasse.

Grantaire stood up, leaving a hand resting on the top of the girl's head. "Guys, this is my sister Addy."

She sniffled. "Hi, guys."

 **A/N:** Surprise?

Also, if you want, I am know on tumblr under slytherinwriterchick, so come say hi if you get bored!


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N**

: Yeah, these are going to be at the beginning now. I find that putting them at the end can ruin any ~dramatic effect~ the end of a chapter can bring. Okay, back to business. Sorry I'm late (we had a crapload of tests to study for past few weeks), thank you so so so much for the overwhelmingly (seriously, you guys are amazing) kind reviews, please review again if you feel so moved, etc etc, enjoy the chapter!

Enjolras was confused. "You have a sister?" He asked bluntly.

Eponine rolled her eyes. "Obviously, dumbass." She turned to address the girl in question. "You got someplace to go?" She asked gently.

"No," she said forlornly. "Dad kicked me out last night. I was just going to sleep here, but, uh, that actually might have been a really bad plan."

"Addy, what were you thinking?! You could've just asked me!" Grantaire asked a little more forcefully than was necessary.

"I'm sorry," she replied with a cracking voice. "I didn't want you to be mad at me or anything."

"I'm not mad," he yelled. "I'm just scared for you. Anything could've happened!"

Musichetta stepped between them before it got any worse. "Grantaire." She said in her best "disciplining a bad dog" kind of voice. "Hey Addy, would you like to come stay with us girls for a night? I'm sure the others wouldn't mind an impromptu movie night."

She smiled. "Yeah. Could I, R?"

"Yeah. They should take good care of you."

The ride back to Musichetta's house apartment was a bit tense. No one knew what to say, so they just settled for not saying anything.

That is, until Cosette had had enough."Come on, guys! Is this the best we can do?! We just had tons of fun at the fair, one of our best friends has a secret sister, and all we can do is friggin brood in silence?! Pardon my language, but hell no! Be happy! Tired I get, but depressed? Come on!"

She would have continued, but Addy herself interrupted. "It's okay, what's-your-name blonde person," she laughed. "I don't mind quiet. And I know, this is kinda awkward, me asking for your help when I only know you guys by report."

Cosette huffed, but settled for turning the radio to an 80's hits station.

Once they had arrived at Musichetta's house, the chosen place of meeting, and settled in, Addy began searching through Musichetta's extensive movie collection. "No way!" She exclaimed, holding aloft _Barbie As Rapunzel_. "You still have this?!"

She laughed. "Those movies were my childhood and I will never get rid of them."

"We gotta watch that," Azelma concurred.

"Obviously! It's a classic!" Cosette added. "Put it in already!"

And so the five girls sat on the floor covered in every blanket they could lay eyes on, wolfing down obscene amounts of popcorn, singing along to the badly animated movie, enjoying every second of it.

After the credits rolled, Azelma rolled over to face the others. "Okay guys. Are we gonna talk about how Eponine was all huggy with Enjolras?"

"Are we going to talk how you spent thirty bucks on winning that goldfish for Jehan?" She shot back.

"No, actually, we aren't," she deflected. "Because you were hugging into him for dear life, and I was just trying to impress Jehan."

"Wait," Addy interrupted. "Enjolras is Mr. Angelic Blondie my brother never shuts up about, right?"

"Yeah, that just about sums him up," Musichetta responded.

"Oh yeah, Eponine. Eponine? Is that it? Yeah, I saw him looking at you, Eponine, he was all googly-eyed, it was disgusting."

She nearly spit out her drink. "What?!"

"He's into you, Eppy. What's so confusing about that?" Cosette asked.

"Everything! Enjolras interested in a girl? Have you ever met him? Have you ever seen him show even a passing interest in anyone in particular?"

"Yeah, you."

She gave Addy her best death glare. "He's just a good friend, guys. That's it. I'm scared of heights, and he happened to be the unfortunate victim of that, but he still helped me. He was just being nice," she refuted, but mentally, she wondered if they were right, an if she wanted them to be.

"Well, we're getting nowhere with that line of questioning, so" Azelma said, turning towards Musichetta. "Any news with you and Joly?"

She snorted out a derisive laugh. "Nope. No news at all. Absolutely nothing has happened with me and Joly in the past few weeks."

Cosette was confused. "And this is bad?"

"Yeah, he's pretty much ignoring me! I get that his studies are important, and he's working pretty long and hard at the bakery, but I'm his girlfriend! Hell, I'd be his fiancé in a heartbeat if he asked, but no! I'm just the chick he sleeps with on occasion," she moped.

"You wanna know what I would do? I would fake dump him and see if he cares or not, and if he proves himself worthy or whatever let him back," Addy suggested.

"And break up over text so he knows how bad it is," Eponine added. "They hate text, makes them feel too unimportant for an actual conversation."

"Yeah," Musichetta nodded. "Because I he doesn't want to get me back, he doesn't deserve me in the first place!"

They set about drafting the text, trying to get the right about of "you messed up" and "try to win me back" in it. Finally, they came up with the result, a text they all could be proud of.

"Joly, I hate to have to say it, but we're through. I don't want to be ignored any longer. You can pack up all your shit in the morning. It's not me, it's you."

Joly, who was staying with Enjolras that night to give the girls space, panicked. This wasn't exactly unusual, so Enjolras was unworried. Once he did ask what the problem was, he became concerned as well. He obviously was concerned for his friend, but he would have to move around the schedules at work to avoid putting the two at work together, which would be problematic. He suggested calling a conference of the Amis to settle the issue, who all came as soon as possible.

First, they analyzed the text itself.

"She hates to say it, and she feels ignored, so I say you try to get her back. Go aggressive," Bahorel offered.

"No, don't chase her!" Feuilly countered. "She said no, so just leave her alone! It's her choice."

"But apologize," Jehan added. "You don't want to alienate her completely."

"But, like, a really loving paying-attention-to-her type apology so that she comes back," Courfeyrac said.

"Write it like a love letter, with the 'my dearest Musichetta' and all, it'll sweep her off her feet," Grantaire suggested.

"Or write an actual letter for one of us to give her," Combeferre said.

Joly nodded. "Could you help me write it? I'm not so good with words in these situations."

They, of course, agreed and, as a comitee, wrote out a love letter which could move the hardest hearts.

He signed it in his best swoopy calligraphy and gave it to Combeferre, a universally trusted messenger, for delivery.

Now all both parties could do was wait.


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N**

: Hello! Yes, I know, I'm early (better than late, right?), but today is the anniversary of my exodus from the womb (translation: it's my birthday whoop), so I wanted to post. One last thing, any reviews would be more than appreciated. Happy reading!

Combeferre sighed. He knew, he _knew_ this would end awfully. He didn't know why exactly, but he was sure something would go horribly wrong, and he would have to deal with the aftermath because he was Luke Combeferre, the one reliable person in this amalgamation of dumbasses.

Well, that was as sorted out as Joly's love life was ever going to be, so now it was time to turn his attention to cleaning up the disaster of Enjolras's. He would sleep on it and hope something came to him in a dream or whatever. He was tired, micromanaging could wait one night.

He rolled his eyes and stuck the letter on top of his briefcase and under his keys (which was indeed on a on a chair under his jacket by his shoes, why do you ask?) and went to bed. It was a rough life being the mom friend, but he managed.

Sleep didn't come so easily for Enjolras , however. He, unsurprisingly, was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, going down the age old spiral of "what now". He was terrible at all the feelings-y stuff. He had told the others he was in love with Eponine, but was that true? Or was it just to get them off his back? He had never been in love, he couldn't possibly know what it felt like. What was love, when you really thought about it? He breathed out a little laugh. Well, he knew what Courfeyrac's answer to that would be. A loudly and badly sung "Baby don't hurt me," but that was actually just about the least helpful response imaginable seeing as it made no sense.

Anyways, suffice to say he was unsure about this whole business. Regardless of how he felt, how did she feel? This wasn't the first time she had been a little more than affectionate in a friendly way. It was he reading too much into it? Or was she just like that? He sighed and flopped over onto his stomach and hugged his pillow. Why did this have to be so complicated? Why couldn't he just walk up and ask her what was happening between them and... Find out once and for all...

Oh no. No, no no no no no no no. He wasn't seriously considering that was he? Was he? He was. Against all better judgement, he was. But how? He couldn't just stroll in and ask the next morning in front of everyone. He could call her I into his office as if he had official business, but that might stress her out more than anything else. And then what if she turned him down? The two of then would just be standing there awkward as could be, at that wouldn't do.

He bit his lip. He needed advice, obviously, but from whom? Not Combeferre, he had enough to worry about, certainly not Courfeyrac or Bahorel, not Joly, not Jehan... Maybe Grantaire? He knew her well, didn't he? He grabbed his phone, cursing every movement for its obvious stupidity.

"Could you help me with something real quick?" he texted. Oh, this was so very bad. Why was he doing this?

"What's up?"

"I need help with the Eponine situation" Bad bad bad bad bad.

"Lol just tell her"

"But what if it doesn't work out?"

"She deserves to know."

"You're right. Thanks buddy," he replied, finally able to sleep. No matter how stupid it was, he felt that the following day's confession would at least bring some closure.

Eponine awoke early the next morning before any of the other girls. She had to go to work, so she dressed quietly, left a note on Musichetta's bathroom mirror, and made her way to the bake shoppe.

She pushed open the door, the bell above it jingling happily. "Anyone else here?" She called out.

"In back," a voice, Enjolras, responded at an equal volume.

Oof. That was weird. Her heart just did some strange thing. She didn't know what, but something. It was like it squeezed a little extra hard once she realized who was there. Huh. Well, anyway, "Hey Gabriel, I'm going to make myself a coffee. Want anything?"

"A latte would be well appreciated," he replied.

She smiled. "Really? No black coffee the color of the your soul or as bitter as the state towards the poor?"

"Nope. Just a latte," he yelled, laughing.

She busied herself with the machine, which she had gotten used to by now. When she had the two drinks in hand, she made a decision. She little hearts in the foam of both his and her drinks. She wasn't quite sure why, but it felt right and looked cute, so she went for it.

"Hey," she said, walking into his office. "I don't remember if I got a chance to thank you for helping me out yesterday, so, y'know, thanks."

He took a gulp from his coffee, not noticing her handiwork. Dang it. "Anytime, Eponine. Anytime."

The pair stood there drinking for a few minutes. "Hey Eponine, could I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Would... Would-" He was suddenly cut off by his phone ringing loudly. "Oh shit. It's the mayor's office, I need to take this. Could I talk to you at lunch maybe?"

"Sure thing, I'll give you some privacy," she replied, stepping out if his office, a bit confused, but not really worried.

She worked diligently until about noon. She didn't mind the work. It was easy enough. She was beginning to get anxious, however. Enjolras had seemed pretty serious earlier. She hoped it wasn't anything bad.

At about half past noon, Enjolras walked into the main bakery. "Are you still okay to talk at lunch?"

"Whenever you're ready, sure," she said, trying not to seem nervous.

He looked at the ground. "You know what, never mind. It's not a big deal," he said, starting to walk away, eyes still downcast.

"Yeah, no. You can't do that, Enj. You know that you jut can't do that to a person. You've hyped me up, say what you were going to say."

He looked up at her, more nervous and apprehensive than she had ever seen him. His breathing was a bit labored, like he was forcing himself to breathe deeply. "I believe that the other Amis for some reason think we need to go on a date or something, so, for the sake of morale, would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

She froze. Okay. This was happening. Oh no. He was looking at her expectantly. She has to answer. What could she say? Something soon, or else.

She surprised herself. "Sure. Pick me up at seven."

Shit.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Oh. My. Gosh. I went to the actual Les Amis Bake Shoppe on Monday last week. I hate to have long author's notes, so I'll just say that it was a pretty damn cool experience for me. Anyways, sorry for the lateness (holidays are busy, okay), thanks to the kind guest reviewer, please follow in their noble footsteps by leaving a review yourself, and enjoy the chapter!

The relief was painfully obvious in his face. What had she gotten herself into? "Seven. Got it. Thank you, Eponine. You know how the boys can get, right?" He asked, gleeful smile breaking the ever stony surface of his marble face.

"I know," she said cheerily as she could manage.

Ugh, why did she do that?! She would end up leading him on and then dumping him, she was sure. Maybe she could give him this one date and then cut it off before it began. But would that make things more or less awkward? Probably less, but not by much.

She didn't have too much time to think about it before Musichetta walked in. She was quickly greeted by Combeferre, who have her what appeared to be a letter written in actual parchment sealed with real life wax. Honestly, the Amis could be so extra sometimes.

"What's it say?" Eponine asked after the redhead finished reading.

"It's from Joly. He's sorry, he still loves me, same old same old," she said dismissively.

"Not enough?"

"Mm, somehow both overdone and not enough. He said that I could keep Eustace, but I don't know what to make of that."

"Eustace?"

"Our pet bird. Joly loves that little idiot," she said fondly.

"And he said you can keep him? Yeah, he's trying to say that he values you above anything else he loves."

Musichetta considered this skeptically. "Eh, I guess I can talk to him tonight and see."

"Just hear him out. Or maybe just demand child support for the bird," she joked.

Musichetta snorted. "He would, you know. He actually would," she said, shoving the letter in her pocket and walking off.

"Hey," Eponine called back to her. "Keep your phone on. I need some advice from the groupchat."

She nodded.

Once she was out of eyeshot, Eponine whipped out her phone and started typing furiously. "Enjolras asked me out and I agreed what the hell do I do??????"

"Finally! I'm gonna add Addy you need all the help you can get" Azelma sent after a string of laughing emojis.

"Do you want to go out with him?" Cosette asked simply.

"I DONT KNOW"

"How were you feeling when you agreed? Were you on the spot and wanting to just end the awkwardness?" Addy piped up. "Oh yeah hi guys I'm here now"

"Yeah? Does it matter?"

"Then maybe you like him but haven't consciously realized yet, which is why you agreed in that split second decision"

"Thanks you Freud. Anyone have actual help?"

"She's right" Musichetta said. "I don't doubt that you can and would say no if you wanted to, but you didn't. It's not because you're a people pleaser. There's no reason you would agree to go on a date if you didn't in some form want to."

"So I should go?"

"DUH." Eponine was fairly certain Addy had sent a psychic eye roll alongside that text.

"Thanks guys. But if it all goes to shit, I'm blaming you, right?"

"Well yeah but it won't cuz you guys are friggin soulmates," Cosette said.

Azelma broke her silence. "Hey guys come over to our apartment help me pick out some date clothes for Eppy"

"Fine, but I gotta go back to work now. bye guys," Eponine wrote, putting her phone on airplane mode to force herself to focus.

It didn't work. She couldn't tear her mind away from the da... The dinner with her boss. Wait, that made it weirder. The event with her superior. Not quite. The affair including Enjolras. Definitely not. The thing with the person. Yeah. She couldn't year her mind away from the thing with the person.

She was beginning to get a bit excited. Really. I mean, he was pretty attractive, obviously, as well as genuinely being a good person she was more than comfortable around. And if he, Mr. Marble, had noticed her an asked her out, an actual female person, in a romantic capacity, maybe he actually cared. That was pretty revolutionary in her life. No one actually cared in that way. Her sister and friends, yes, but Marius neve noticed, and Montparnasse was... Montparnasse. But Enjolras, he was different. He had shown over and over that he cared about her _and_ respected her! It was unheard of! She didn't feel anything special towards Enjolras, but she had the strangest notion that she could if she only gave him the chance, not that she might be able to force herself, but that there was potential. Potential for a genuinely healthy and enjoyable relationship.

She flew the afternoon on auto pilot barely registering a single action. At about five she bowed out to prepare, mentally and physically. When she got home, her apartment was unsurprisingly swarming with busybodies holding up clothes and curlers and make up brushes and other torture implements.

"Shower. Now," Azelma commanded, shoving a razor in her face. "Shave your under arms and legs at least, we've decided to leave the lady bits to your discretion."

"Thanks," she replied dryly. "Shall I use bar soap, or liquid?"

Azelma scanned her. "Liquid. Cleans better. Chop chop, Ponine, clock's ticking!"

She huffed, but went along with them, showering, letting them smear make up on her, submitting to the scalp searing hair curlers, trying on hundreds of combinations of pants, leggings, dresses, shirts, things she didn't remember buying. She had to admit, it was impressive how much they were getting into it.

Finally, she was ready. "Et voila!" Azelma said with a flourish. "Whaddya think?"

Eponine studied her reflection. Red sundress, black leather jacket, black leggings, black boots. "Nice. He likes red and black, right?"

"Very much," Musichetta confirmed. "It's actually kinda weird how much he loves those colors."

"Huh. Well, I look good, anyways." She checked her phone. "It's fifteen 'till seven, you guys should get going. I think I'll need a little alone time."

They left somewhat silently, winking and patting her back as they left. Now she was left with her thoughts and the apprehension of an accidental date with none other than Gabriel Michael Enjolras. She laughed remembering the day and way he told her that. He had been so funny and real, more real than she'd ever seen him. She had known that very day that she could easily fall for a guy like that, but she hadn't seen that Enjolras since. Maybe tonight was her chance to see him again. Maybe this wasn't a bad decision, but the best of her life.

Enjolras was nervous, of course. Especially now that Grantaire had told him to dial it back and pretend he actually just wanted to appease the Amis. He considered himself to be a good actor, so he hoped it would work. He knocked.

"Just a minute!" He heard some rather concerning thumping sounds before all the locks clicking back. "Hey," she said, base ball bat on her shoulder.

He froze for just a millisecond. She really was beautiful, wasn't she? Even when he was threatening him with a baseball bat. "What is it with you and the bat?" He laughed.

"Better safe than sorry, okay?!" She defended jokingly before putting away her bat and grabbing her phone. "Alright, where are we going?"

"Well, there's been a bit of an issue with the bakery."

Her smile fell in disappointment. "Oh. You can go take care of your responsibilities, I don't mind. But thanks for telling me in person, Enjolras. Most would just text, so thanks."

He smiled. Screw it, he would just go on a date, no pretense, no lies, just the two of them. "An issue we need to solve together over a nice dinner, I meant."

She sighed dramatically. "Don't freak me out like that, sir. It's not gentlemanly."

He raised an eyebrow. "Whatever made you think that I would be gentleman?" He purred. Hm. This whole flirting thing was new. He hoped he was doing it correctly.

"Literally everything you've ever done. Don't even try to be the sexy bad boy or whatever, it doesn't work on you," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Damn it.

"You're sexy enough without it," she said.

He coughed, feeling sure that if he had been drinking water at that point, it would have been comedically spat out. "Thank you?"

"Damn straight." She walked over to his car. "You just gonna stand there gaping like a fish, or are we gonna fix your alleged issue, sexy boy?" She asked, climbing into his car.

He quickly found his bearings and joined her.

"I mean it," she said quietly after a few seconds of riding along in not uncomfortable silence. "You don't need to pretend to be someone else around me. I already know you and I agreed to this date anyway."

He nodded. "I know, Eponine. Thank you," he said solemnly. "So," he said after a beat, changing the subject, "Don't you want to know what we're doing?"

"Sure, I'll bite," she grinned. "What's the deal?"

"Well you see, there's been an issue, as you know. The men, dedicated as they are, are starting to lose focus of the cause. And try as I might, I just can't get anything from what we stole over a month ago. I need the opinion of someone more... Trained to read in between the lines, at the very least. Most likely it's time to try a new angle." He sighed. "Except I don't have a clue what to do. I desperately need to brainstorm and I think you're the best partner for this endeavor. You're the only one who... Who has a true connection to the problem as well as my trust."

She snorted. "You know full well that you could trust your life with any one of us."

He nodded. "You too," he replied. "But nevertheless, I would value your opinion on this, and it isn't a conversation suited for text or email."

"I really should be surprised, but of course a date with you would be business first, date second."

"Excuse you, I'm just being practical. Would you rather us ignore the truth? I already know about your job, family, hobbies, taste in music, all that small talk stuff. Why don't we just actually have a useful and surely interesting conversation instead?"

She considered. "Okay, maybe, _maybe_ you're right. But if I may ask, where are we going for this reportedly 'nice' dinner?"

"Jake's, that nice place down town."

Her eyes widened. "Damn. You better be paying, 'cause there is no way I can afford that, sorry," she said, ashamed.

He laughed. "Don't be. It's okay, Eponine, I've got it."

"See? Gentleman," she smiled.

He huffed and turned his attention back to the road. Or he tried, at least. It really wasn't his fault, he thought, that she just had to be so distractingly beautiful. The sun had set an hour prior, and Eponine was smiling contentedly in the moonlight, gazing up at the starry sky. It was a very distracting sight. He did his best, he really did, to ignore her. Finally, he just gave up. "You look amazing," he said quietly.

She tried to hold back her smile. "You, too. I, uh, I can see why Grantaire always calls you Apollo. You do look rather, well, godly."

"And you look like a goddess, so it all works out," he flirted. He hoped this was working. Better to be over complimentary than under, right?

She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved his shoulder. "Shut up."

He smirked. "Your wish is my command."

"Then I command you to shut up and drive."

He grunted in affirmation.

She muttered something he didn't quite catch about how he was "impossible" and turned away, staring out of the window for the rest of the journey.

They entered the restaurant and ordered before he drew the files out of his briefcase. "Would you please read through these before we give up all together? One more opinion might give us the nudge we need."

She exhaled and began scanning. He watched her methodically read through every page. She was almost through the stack when she began to say, "Sorry, Gabriel. I just don't see anyth- Oh shit."

"What is it?" Enjolras asked, concern leaking into his voice.

She looked up, fear shining in her eyes. "It's me. The mayor using campaign resources to find me."


End file.
